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COVER FEATURE
BUDAPEST
SIMPLAKERT’S IS A
GREAT VENUE IN WHICH
TO SPEND A LONG,
BUSTLING EVENING
Budapest’s buzziest bar vortex sits in a
relatively small tangle of streets between
the Central Synagogue and focal Klauzál
tér. This is also the heart of the Jewish
Quarter, stretches of Kazinczy utca and
Wesselényi utca dotted with kosher bakers,
butchers and restaurants. Crumbling
residential buildings with communal
courtyards provided the perfect location
for a peculiarly Budapest type of venue,
the
romkert
or
romkocsma
,
rom
meaning
‘ruin’,
kert
‘garden’ and
kocsma
‘bar ’.
Showing the way and arguably still the
best of its kind is the Szimplakert, a indoor
and outdoor establishment of skip-found
furniture and wacky decor, several bar
counters, film screenings, live music and
DJs. Sister venue the Szimpla sits on
equally vibrant Kertész utca. This cabin of
NIGHTLIFE,
JEWISH QUARTER
JUNE-JULY 2012
WIZZ MAGAZINE
33
“COMMUNAL COURTYARDS
PROVIDE THE PERFECT
LOCATION”